Your Top 10 Tips - Large Family

Family Camping Tips:

1. Each kid gets ONE duffel bag for clothes and ONE backpack for personal/fun items. All their stuff must fit. No exceptions, no excuses, no whining. Each keeps track of their own stuff. Only the dirty clothes bag is communal. Thou shalt not look in or take from thy sibling's bags.

2. Dinettes are not feasible sleeping locations. If you lack enough bunks, put the oldest boy in a pup tent. He'll prefer it (I sure did). Exception can be made for rainstorm night arrivals.

3. Establish routine tasks for each kid they are responsible for and competent to do. Setup involves lots of tasks and it gets done really quickly when the family works as an organized team.

An additional tip:

If it's in your trailer and you don't use it within a year, it GOES BYE BYE. It's real easy to start adding "what if" items, but if they just sit gathering dust, then it's unnecessary weight.

The other tip that goes along with that is: everything must have a place and when it's not in use, it goes in that place. That means don't store kitchen appliances on the bed for travel and on the counter when stopped. That just creates extra work - arrive late at night and want to go straight to bed, nope, gotta set out the appliances, etc., first.

If your just starting rent a few times and rent a few different floor plans then you will have a better idea what you need or want. Then look for a used rig. Make sure you have enough tow veh. for the trailer you end up with.

Am important thing I learned years ago. We lived on a 13 ton Ketch (two masted sailboat). Parents, three kids and a woolly dog. Things get tight. Most of all, be ready for bad weather. Bad weather ment that we were below deck until it ended. Shore was a row in the small boat away and Pop would take Sam ashore in the morning and evening. If it was raining, then we were cramped below with a wet woolly dog.

Entertainment was reading. The radio was for weather and news and the batteries were expensive. This was a tube radio and the batteries didn't last long.

Have games and things to amuse the kids. If you have to get them out, make it special. It will make memories that last forever.

Matt

After 45 years we are still learning.
Plan to arrive at a campsite well before dark and in plenty of time to register, find the site, get set up and prepare diner. Never after dark. sometimes you need reservations but you'll have to learn where and when. Never rush leaving but always walk around the site and make sure everything is ready to pull out or you'll forget something or cause damage. Always drive a distance well within your tolerance. For us that's in the 250 to 350 mile range. Make a checklist of things to take continuing to modify it. That's a very short list but honestly you won't know what you're doing for a long time.

Tvov wrote:
We had (kids are in college now, so don't camp much with us anymore) a basic list of things for people to do when we setup and when we returned home. We didn't overburden the kids with "chores", don't want to make camping seem like work for them, but there is always something for them to help out with. Then we would send them off to the campground's playground while Mom and Dad finished the details of setting up.

Actually, one big thing we started right away and never wavered from was when we got home after a trip - no one does ANYTHING else until the camper is unloaded! Made coming home actually a pleasure, as everyone would grab stuff out of the camper and get it into the house. Really only took like 10 minutes with everyone helping.

We also basically banned electronics while camping. No cell phones, smart phones, DVD players, no TV. We played games, read books, got dirty, went swimming. My son, now 21, still refuses to use electronics when he goes camping! Having said that --- electronics while driving was a lifesaver many times. When the trip to the campground was multiple hours, DVD players or hand held electronic games in the truck were great.

Have fun, you'll figure things out, and come back here and tell us of your adventures!

Agreed. I think we erred on the opposite side of this, and the kids weren't made to help with any set up or breakdown, or packing or unpacking (dd2 would spot when backing up). Big BIG mistake (the not making them help, she's a great spotter!!). It can be age appropriate but everyone should help.

We do allow some electronics, sometimes, but not in the US when roaming. Having them have a cell phone when wandering about without us is actually a good thing. They were never into video games so no worries there.

1. Relax! Relax! Relax! Don't get behind the wheel until you are relaxed; if you get stressed on the road, pull over for a snack or walk and RELAX before continuing on. Most major issues happen when you're stressed and don't catch clues ahead of time or try to rush.

2. Plan the road trip to take longer than the calculations suggest. Better to show up a bit early than late.

3. Look at the systems of the trailer - if the water goes out, can you get water from the campground? If so, don't stress over it so much. If the fridge goes out, you can pick up some cheap coolers and ice to get through? Then don't worry about it. Hot water heater goes out? Can you heat water on the stove or fire? Then don't worry about it. Stove goes out, can you cook over the fire? Then don't worry about it.

4. Don't fill your camping experience with electronics (tvs, microwaves, hair dryers, etc.), and your power consumption will go down. Test in your driveway how longg your batteries will last without needing a recharge - remember that.

5. Involve the kids - as others say, make it a part of the experience. Even little kids can plan a meal (even if it's spaghettios and hotdogs over the fire - you'll all love that meal because the 4 year old is so proud of it.

6. You're camping. You're out in the wilderness. You're going to get dirty. Get over it. Save the clean clothes for the driving time when you might stop to eat. If the kids don't have a problem wearing muddy jeans a second day, let them. If there is a stream or lake and it's not too cold, let them go swimming instead of taking showers. Grab some biodegradable shampoo and your good.

7. Stuff to worry about: the vehicle has rolled into a lake; an unconsious family member; an injury that won't stop bleeding; convulsions; trailer is falling off the frame; things that require IMMEDIATE assistance or that prevent you from getting to help or home. Other stuff can be dealt with: teach kids not to reach hands into crevices, carry meds for allergies, etc - keep them on the person who needs them at all times (don't have mom carry the epipen for little Joe - have little Joe carry it in a belt pack that doesn't come off without an adult taking watch over it.

Everything else can be worked around if you keep positive and don't let it upset you.

My most important tip would be to attempt to make camping different than your day-to-day lifestyle at home. Consider "roughing it" kinda like our forefathers did without the use of a generator to run all your high power demands. Most trailers and 5th wheels are set up for a camper to enjoy the great outdoors for at least a couple days without needing extra power, water or sewer disposal.

Lots of good suggestions have been given already. My few:

1. Camp in your driveway first, and keep track of what's missing. Add those items. Also take inventory and remove items that are not being used and are not necessary; it's easy to start to drag along stuff that just takes up space and weight for no purpose.

2. One of the most useful tools you can have along is a little rectangular piece of plastic. Mine are somewhat multicolored and have emobssed letters and numbers and some words like "Visa" and "Mastercard" printed on them. It's often more sensible (in my opinion) to pack less and buy needed stuff on the way than to tote around a bunch of things just in case; this applies to tools, supplies, groceries, etc.

3. Have and use a sense of humor and adventure. Some things probably (almost certainly) won't go exactly right, but you can still have a great time.

4. Retract awning if there's any chance of relatively high winds. It's as much a bit sail as it is an awning.

5. Turn off the water pump and city water spigot when leaving the RV. A leak or a dripping faucet won't cause a big flood if you do this.

6. Do a careful walkaround before pulling out. Make sure the electric cord and hoses are not connected up, the TV antenna is down, the wheel chocks are removed, and the hitch connections are all firmly and properly attached. It would not hurt to do this walkaround again afterwards.

Dougs list hits it pretty much spot on!